


lightspeed

by danketsu



Category: THE iDOLM@STER
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Neighbors, Yanno, gen - Freeform, hibiki-typical mentions of copious amounts of pets and challenges, the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25542817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danketsu/pseuds/danketsu
Summary: Hibiki can feel herself cracking at the seams a bit lately, yearning for air or warmth or happiness in the everyday bustling business that is her life™.
Relationships: Ganaha Hibiki/Kisaragi Chihaya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	lightspeed

**Author's Note:**

> this was written to celebrate today, idolmasters 15th anniversary! even just saying that makes me want to tear up :')  
> happy anniversary the best series in the entire world, the absolute pinnacle of all content, the masters of the idol world! the love and purpose youve given me the past 10 years (!!) of my life cant be replaced by anything. im forever grateful. i love you, in the truest and most honest sense of the word. これからも....アイドル!!!!!

This thing is, when Hibiki moved in, her landlord had said that having pets was _ fine _ . 

So what if she had a few more pets than he probably thought she did. So  _ what _ if Inumi howled at every car that went past. She was protecting the building! The landlord should be _ thanking _ her.

They couldn't force her to move out because she wasn't  _ really _ breaking any rules, and she would never downsize her precious, precious family, so he'd just have to deal. For real. The nerve of this guy! Plus, it was getting really annoying to have to ignore texts about noise complaints, like, every day.

His newest attack on her calm, quiet, furry friend-filled life was now his insistence that she couldn't bring her "weird" pets on walks in front of the building anymore. That they were causing a "disturbance" and "something something spectacle" and "was it even legal to have an alligator as a pet". Literally the dumbest things she'd ever heard.

But Hibiki's a good girl. She follows the rules, she bakes cookies for the grandma who lives across from her, she doesn't leave her laundry sitting in the downstairs laundromat for an unreasonable amount of time. She'll even get around to paying her parking ticket one day. She should be given an award or something. She'll follow her landlord's stupid rules even if they're  _ stupid _ .

But this whole "not taking her pets for walks during the day or in front of the building" thing means lots of sneaking Hamzou and the others who are small enough to fit into her pockets out to let them get some fresh air. That's doable, she usually sneaks at least Hamuzou with her everywhere she goes anyways. That's  _ fine _ . But with everybody else… it requires some serious brain power.

She tries to sneak some of them out under a big sweater, but it turns out most people can tell when you're holding a chicken under your clothes. It's news to her, but the glare she gets from the landlord's henchman at the front desk tells her that her plan definitely isn't as sneaky as she wanted it to be.

She's running out of options! It's not fair to her precious pets to keep them locked inside all day, especially when they already have to wait for her while she's at school and work. It's! not! fair! Her animals deserve justice! 

But Hibiki's going to be good, if not because she really does want to try and not bother other people, then because she really can't afford to be asked nicely to vacate another apartment. She still has two years left of school to go before she can finally call herself a true veterinarian and she wants to stay on the right path towards her goal. 

She won't compromise any area of her life, she  _ won't _ . She refuses! Nothing will hold her back! She can do anything she sets her mind t- aaand the cat is chasing after the parrot again. And she's pretty sure the pig is chewing on her homework. Another day in the Hibiki household. 

She'll get back to being rebellious once she's done dealing with that.

The sun's completely dropped below the horizon once she's done making dinner and took out a large chunk of her unfinished homework and that means it's time to let her flying squirrel get some fresh air. Which is, you know, another important part of the everyday life in the Hibiki household. He's nocturnal and so well behaved and patient and soft and his little nose is so cute and, and… he deserves to go outside! Without a doubt! To heck with the landlord!

For the past week, she's been taking her larger and more unique pets up to the rooftop terrace to let them explore a little bit. It's neutral territory, no staff to glare at her, and she's never even seen anybody up there other than herself and some stray pigeons. It's not perfect, and there's not even a flowerbed or dirt of any kind for her pig to roll around in, which is ridiculous, really they should think about the pigs when designing these sort of things, but it works. It's fresh air and she doesn't get in trouble for it, plus the moonlight really is beautiful even if you can't see the stars in the city.

Her flying squirrel's already wiggling because it recognizes that it's now outside time, which is  _ so _ cute, he's  _ so  _ smart, but it's dangerous to let him run around in the hallways so she cooes at him until he relaxes in the palm of her hands. Hibiki's so focused on making sure he's calm that she doesn't notice someone else is on the terrace until the door is clicking shut behind her.

It's a girl her age, and the first thing Hibiki notices about her when she startles and turns around to see what made the noise is her long, flowing hair. The wind is making it messy, but it's still prettier than Hibiki's is without the wind blowing it around.

They make eye contact and Hibiki's jaw clenches around the friendly greeting and introduction she  _ would  _ be saying if not completely and utterly intimidated. As beautiful as the girl is, she doesn't smile or say something silly like Hibiki definitely would if someone caught her up here. She furrows her brows at Hibiki and looks her up and down critically. Hibiki steels herself for the worst because usually girls this pretty aren't that nice to people like Hibiki.

"Um," the girl clears her throat like she hasn't spoken in a while, "Why are you holding a mouse?"

That's… definitely not what Hibiki was expecting, but she immediately brightens, "This is a flying squirrel! Do you wanna pet him? He's super nice!"

She's not really friends with any of her neighbors (or much of anybody at all at the moment), but this could be her chance! Even if it's definitely questionable she doesn't know what a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel looks like, Hibiki's willing to put that past her and be friends with her. 

The girl looks at her like she's crazy, but Hibki's used to that. She eyes the little bundle in Hibki's outstretched hands, "Is… is he dirty?"

Hibiki puffs up and holds her pet to her chest, shielding him from the insult, "What?! Why would he be dirty?!"

The girl startles at Hibiki's offense, "A-aren't wild animals dirty…?"

Hibiki gasps accusingly. The nerve! "He's not a wild animal! He's my pet!"

"Your pet?!" 

"Duh! I'm taking him for a walk."

They're standing less than ten feet apart, but both girls are obviously on different pages of the same book. Different  _ chapters _ , even. The girl's looking at her like she's scared Hibiki's gonna yell at her, which she would  _ never _ do, she's a  _ good girl _ . This is probably the worst first impression she's ever given someone of herself, though, and she's spilt hot tea on, like, five different people in her life. 

Hibiki deflates a little, feeling guilty for the confusion because it's probably her fault, like it  _ always _ is. Maybe she can try and salvage the situation, though...

"It really is safe, yanno. He's super nice and obedient and stuff. All my pets are."

Hibiki puts on a bright smile, the one she gives to little kids when she promises that her parrot won't bite or to the landlord when she promises she'll never let the alligator into the lobby ever again. It's her ' _ pretty pretty pleeease trust me I swear I'm normal' _ smile and holds out the hand not holding her very wiggly pet for a handshake, "I'm Hibiki!"

The girl eyes Hibiki's hand cautiously before deflating herself and gently taking it and letting Hibiki shake her hand around for a solid seven seconds. Nobody ever taught Hibiki how to shake hands with somebody so it's the best she can do. The girl's hand is completely limp when Hibiki lets her go, "My name is Chihaya Kisaragi…"

"Cool! We're neighbors, right? So, let's be friends," Hibiki says it as confidently as she possibly can, using setting her pet down on the ground as an excuse to not meet the other gi-  _ Chihaya's _ still very cautious eyes. She really, really can't afford to let a potential friend go. And it could be good practice for convincing future patrons of Ganaha Veterinary Services that all animals are friends and should be loved forever and ever. 

This is a perfect opportunity. Hibiki's not going to let this chance go!

Unfortunately… she's a nervous talker and can't seem to stop babbling, "Why are you up here anyways? I mean, I'm up here to walk my flying squirrel, but why you? It's pretty up here at night, I  _ guuuess _ , but there's like no stars in the city, yanno? I mean, there's _ some _ , but not  _ that _ many. Also, like, your hands are super cold? You should really get a jacket. I, uh, I guess I'm not wearing a jacket either, but..."

She takes a deep breath, already winded from saying so much all at once. Chihaya's staring at her like she's insane, which is definitely fair. Hibiki won't even fault her for that. She made things awkward again, oh man, this is nothing like talking to Hamzou, she's gonna scare this poor girl with the pretty hair away, oh no-

"I… I was practicing my singing," Chihaya answers quietly, hugging her arms to her chest. 

Hibiki stops panicking and immediately brightens at her answer. This moment could be saved! "Singing? Awesome!"

Chihaya nods, "Yeah, a-awesome…"

It's like this girl has never said this word "awesome" before. It's… cute. Hibiki's smile feels more natural this time, "Why were you up here, though? Are ya good?"

"The electricity… um, the electricity in my apartment got turned off and it's hard for me to read sheet music in the dark," Chihaya answers, glancing at a too-full, bursting at the seams folder full of paper on the bench, "I'm a music major at Namco University, uh, the one nearby? So, I have homework I have to finish, and, um, things like that…"

Hibiki puts her hands on her hips after letting her pet down to scurry around the potted plants, "For reals? I go to Namco, too! Looks like we're more alike than we thought, huh!"

Hibiki's not sure what response she was expecting when she said that, but the one she got wasn't it. Chihaya looked less freaked out by Hibiki, which is a total win, but the little smile on her face when she answered, "Yeah, I guess we are," was so dazzling that Hibiki had to remind herself that staring is impolite and she backed another step away for safety. She moves back to a safe topic, or at least tries to.

"S-so, you're good at singin', right? Like, songs?"  _ oh my God what else would she be singing Hibiki, shut up, shut up, _ "I taught my parrot to sing Happy Birthday but it's getting pretty annoying since it's the only one he knows…"

"Eh? You have a parrot, too?" Chihaya's eyes have been suspiciously following the flying squirrel from platform to platform this whole time, but she looks back at Hibiki with surprise.

Hibiki beams with pride, "Sure do! I taught my dog to sing, too!" 

"A dog, as well?!" Chihaya looks flabbergasted at the idea that someone can have more than one pet. She doesn't look as freaked out about the dog as she was about the parrot or flying squirrel, though. Hibiki files this information away for later.

She can't wait to tell Chihaya about the pig.

Hibiki usually spends 20 or so minutes per pet up here, because she  _ does  _ have homework and it's not like the fear of her flying squirrel deciding to fly off the roof is  _ nonexistent _ , but her 10:59 'go to sleep NOW hibiki' phone alarm rattling off in the middle of her tangent about the _ audacity _ of the staff in this building catches her attention, and not in a great way.

"When did it get so late, oh man…" Hibiki's phone is slipped back in the pocket of her jean shorts and she looks up at Chihaya sheepishly, "Sorry for talking' your ear off for so long, we should both probably get goin', huh?"

They both yawn at the same time; Chihaya's quiet one covered by her hand so opposite to Hibiki's loud, naturally exaggerated one that it makes them both laugh. Hibiki's smile feels more relaxed than it has in weeks. She feels bad for every customer she's flashed a manic wide-toothed grin at when handing them their groceries in the past fortnight but she's been really high strung lately. Or at least, more than usual.

Hibiki would feel bad for basically talking at the poor girl for an hour now, but Chihaya's calmly listened the entire time, only interjecting when Hibiki paused for more than ten seconds, which was rare, but still. She didn't seem mad, though. Maybe she was just really quiet and preferred other people to fill the silence. Hibiki could definitely do that. 

Maybe she was as happy to have Hibiki's company as Hibiki was to have hers.

That warming thought is what makes Hibiki say what she says next, making Chihaya pause in shuffling her papers back into her bag, "Hey, uh, you said your power was out, right? Do you wanna, like, spend the night at my place? Or something?"

When Hibiki moved in, she'd splurged and gotten a 2BR1BA despite it being more pricey because she was convinced she'd accrue as many friends as she'd imagined when moving to Tokyo. She actually did end up making a lot of new friends, but they happened to come in the form of a snake, a chipmunk, a parrot, a bunny, a-

Well. The point is, she didn't really make as many human friends as she'd expected to (and people weren't exactly lining up to room with someone who has a pet pig), so her second room has gone pretty much untouched unless Inumi sneaks inside to nap on the sun-warmed carpet. There is a bed in there, although unused because her Mom still hasn't visited even though she's been in the city for three years now. 

But it's a room! It's totally fit for a guest, even if there's a little surplus of various pet supplies stacked in the corner. It's warm, and comfy, and the electricity works, and is a perfect excuse to get her new friend inside of her apartment! Yes!

Hibiki's a bright, sunny person. This is something she prides herself on. She's an extrovert through and through; she loves being around other people and they usually love being around her. So what if being in the city and taking six classes in one semester and working part time at the convenience store by the park and being away from her hometown and having 10 high maintenance pets has begun to drain her. She's only human.

She really needs the company. 

Emotionally and physically. It's getting pretty dusty in there. 

She can feel herself cracking at the seams a bit lately, yearning for air or warmth or happiness in the everyday bustling business that is her _ life _ ™. She wants  _ excitement _ , she wants to reach inside her chest and grab this electricity and work it until it's shining and bright and everyone around her can feel it, too. Which is why her heart starts beating faster and she can feel her smile grow when Chihaya answers, "...Alright. I guess it couldn't hurt." 

That's definitely the only reason.

Hibiki chats excitedly as they ride the elevator two floors down so Chihaya can pick up some things for an overnight. She says she'd get scared living so high up, Chihaya must be really brave. Chihaya doesn't answer. 

Chihaya also doesn't invite her inside, but does leave the door open behind her so Hibiki assumes it's okay to enter. They're friends, after all, right? Right? They've known each other for two-ish hours, but there's a  _ connection _ , Hibiki can  _ feel  _ it.

Hibiki doesn't go past the genkan, because what she  _ does _ know about Chihaya is that she's a very private person and Hibiki totally wants to respect that, not to mention it's so dark inside that she doesn't think she can enter without tripping over the step leading into the small apartment. 

But what she can see makes her breath draw in tight and fast.

There's curtains drawn on the two windows Hibiki can see, making the main room darker than it already would be with the electricity out. Even from here, Hibiki can tell this apartment is much smaller than her own. It's barely more than an Efficiency. There's cardboard boxes stacked next to a lone chabudai with a closed laptop resting on top of it that Chihaya shoves into a messenger bag when she walks past. 

Hibiki looks down and there's two pairs of shoes next to her own, the sensible pair of sneakers Chihaya wore to their roof meeting and a guest pair of black slippers that matched the ones Chihaya was wearing to walk around her home and gather things for a sleepover. They look like they've never been worn. They look completely normal and plain and so unlike Hibiki's neon pink bunny slippers next to them.

Hibiki steps back. The sight makes her feel inexplicably out of sorts. She knew they were different, it's glaringly obvious, but the lack of color or brightness makes Hibiki feel a bit dull herself.

Chihaya's apartment is practically empty and it… makes Hibiki a little more grateful . Chihaya rounds the corner slowly from the one bedroom and doesn't meet Hibiki's eyes.

"Sorry it's a mess… I really can stay here, Ganaha-san, it's just a little dark, I-"

"Oh! No worries! I want you to meet my pets finally, anyway!"  _ And I really want to get you somewhere warm and fun and happy _ , but she doesn't say that out loud.

It's only a few more floors down to Hibiki's apartment. In the elevator, she puts on a smile and asks, "How long ago did you move in?"

"Oh, um, I've almost been here a year."

A year and there's still piles of unpacked boxes…The thought makes Hibiki crestfallen for her friend. She kinda wants to hug Chihaya, but she can't even imagine the sort of reaction that would get. She twists her hands together behind her back. She really hopes Chihaya isn't too overwhelmed by her apartment…

Unfortunately, "overwhelmed" is exactly the expression on Chihaya's face when Hibiki opens the door. 

Hibiki works hard to keep the place as clean as she can, and it's not like she can afford anything but food for her pets and (barely) herself so there's not many decorations, and she doesn't have a bed frame because they're expensive and heavy, and there's some socks on the floor, but it's clean and colorful and very… Hibiki. 

The most Hibiki thing about her apartment isn't the colorful raincoat hanging by the door, though. It's the 9 pets currently coming to welcome their owner home after not seeing her for a whole… two hours. Everybody's happy and wagging their tails or running around her feet or flying around her head and it's a few seconds of chaos before Hibiki can properly peel Hamuzou off her shirt and spin on her heel to welcome Chihaya to her humble home.

But somebody's already welcoming her and Hibiki just about passes out from sheer cuteness. Inumi's gone up to Chihaya to sniff and wag her tail at the guest, and, well, Inumi's kind of big and kind of really strong (Hibiki can't pretend she hasn't tried to ride her around the apartment before), so the initial reaction is to pull her back to not freak Chihaya out. Inumi would never hurt anybody ever, but, like,  _ still _ . 

But Hibiki has nothing to worry about, apparently, because Chihaya's reaching out a slender hand to cautiously pet Inumi's head and it's so cute, it's so cute.

"Have you had a dog before, Chihaya? You're really good with her!" Hibiki smiles naturally, trying really hard to not smile like a crazy person. Just seeing her friend inside her apartment petting her dog makes her want to laugh and jump around from happiness. It's kind of like when you introduce two friend groups together, but it's her pets and her friend who she's still in the process of convincing herself she doesn't have a crush on.

Chihaya pulls her hand back like she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to, "Oh, I've, um, never had a pet before… You have lots, though."

Hibiki grins so hard it almost hurts, "I sure do! That's Inumi, you prob'ly heard me talk about her before, right? I love her! I mean, I love everybody, but I love her the mostest, yanno? But don't tell anyone else! Oh, and this is Hamuzou, do you wanna see his cage? He's-"

Hibiki's kind of nervous once everybody calms down and goes back to napping or chewing on treats and then suddenly she's nervously babbling again. But Chihaya's so nice about it, she doesn't even tell Hibiki to shut up. And maybe her standards are low since she spends all her time with animals, but still.

Chihaya lets Hibiki walk her all around her house and show her everything and everybody's cages and her "no" doesn't even sound that disgusted when Hibiki tries to get her to hold the snake. It's getting late, super late, but Hibiki has Chihaya's attention on her and she's kind of basking in the attention of a pretty girl and it's hard to stop herself.

She's so  _ nice _ and  _ pretty _ and she's not even standing super close to Hibiki, but they're in Hibiki's tiny living room and she's not mad about Hibiki making her look at this specific type of hamster food she found to mix in with the homemade food she makes food everybody and it's… really nice. She even smells good. Hibiki's trying  _ so  _ hard to not catch feelings.

She's always been the type to get crushes easily but she's never been in a relationship before. It's a deadly combination. Especially when they end up in Hibiki's guest room sitting side by side on the bed, shoulders almost touching. 

"I'm really happy you said 'yes', you know. I think we're gonna be really good friends!" Hibiki's cheeks are getting pink, but she only says this as an excuse to nudge Chihaya's leg with her knee.

"I… thought it was weird at first, honestly,"  _ Ow, that stings _ , "but I'm probably the weird one for accepting to stay the night at someone I just met's place, aren't I?"

"Nope, not even a little! It's what friends do!" Chihaya glances at her like she might not believe they're friends just yet, but Hibiki's totally looking forward to changing that. If anything, Hibiki's going to translate that into Chihaya calling her 'trustworthy' and 'cool' and also probably 'pretty', as well. Hibiki understands all.

"Really? Have you done this with your other friends, as well?" Chihaya wonders out loud, looking up from where she was playing with her own fingers like she didn't know what to do with them so she could watch Inumi push the cracked door open with her nose and let herself in.

Hibiki makes grabby hands at Inumi and fluffs up her ears when she walks up to her. She tries to answer the question in the way that makes her sound the  _ least _ lonely, "Uh… I haven't really had anybody over here, yet! You're the first, you should feel special~"

Chihaya pets at Inumi, too. She doesn't respond right away, which is fine, Hibiki's totally not nervous about it or anything. The quiet  _ does _ make her realize how tired she is, though. It's well past midnight, as in, it's closer to wake-up time than it is to midnight and even the excitement from having a girl in her home can't keep the yawn from escaping her. A squeak of indignation sounds from under the blanket and she scrambles back up to let Hamuzou out from under where she accidentally laid on him. She can  _ feel _ his disappointment. 

"Sorry, Hamu! I'll try and get everybody out of here so you can sleep, Chihaya. I think everybody's just really happy to have a guest!" _ Including me. _

Hibiki scoops Hamuzou up and stands, not bothering to hide her yawn. She's about to tug on Inumi's collar to get her to follow but Chihaya speaks up, "Um, Ganaha-san? Inumi… Inumi can stay if she'd like to. Um…"

_ She's so cute.  _

"Well, Inumi? What'cha think, bud? You wanna stay with our new friend?" Hibiki kneels and asks Inumi directly to her face. It's performative; obviously Inumi wants to sleep in the same bed as Chihaya, she has great taste, and obviously Hibiki's gonna let her, because she also has great taste. So it's no surprise that Inumi immediately hops up on the bed and curls around Chihaya.

Inumi takes up most of the room on the twin-sized mattress but Chihaya looks so delighted even through her attempt to hide it. Hibiki doesn't hide her own delight, though, "Ah! Already best friends, huh~ Inumi, you sly girl!"

She goes to leave and close the door behind her, because any second longer in here is gonna make her say something even stupider than she's already been saying, but Chihaya interupts her before she can fully exit.

"Oh, um…! Ganaha-san? No, wait. Uh.. Hibiki?" Chihaya reaches out her hand before bringing it back to her chest quickly once she realizes she has Hibiki's attention again, "Really, thank you for letting me stay here. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but you offered, and- well. I'm grateful, I guess is what I'm trying to say."

Hibiki has to pick her jaw up off the floor before she can respond.

"Yeah, Of course! Any time, yanno?" _ I couldn't think of any other way to not let you just pass me by, _ "I'm really glad I could help you!"

Chihaya's eyes didn't move from Hibiki's face, but they turned softer, more accepting, "You're… really different from anyone else I've ever met."

_ So are you.  _

Hibiki can't really register if she said that out loud or not at first, and there are equal parts of her that don't want to find out and don't want Chihaya to see her turn red like a tomato, so she squeezes Hamuzou a little too hard and says her "goodnight, see ya later!" a little too loud, turns on her heel, and uses every ounce of normalcy in her body to not melt into a puddle of nerves until the door is closed and she's halfway to her room.

She slides down the wall until she can't go any further and smushes her face in weird ways to get rid of the expression she  _ knows _ is there. Hamuzou gives her a worried look before jumping off her knees and scurrying to their room. She would probably give herself a worried look too, if she was anybody else. 

She takes a few minutes to calm herself. Telling her brain over and over  _ it's just a girl, you don't even know her, even if she's a bad person Inumi will stop her, why is she so pretty _ works pretty well. She didn't do… _ too _ bad. She wasn't _ that  _ weird, probably. She hasn't really gotten to spend any of her free time around anyone that didn't have four legs or a tail in her private life in the past, well, since she's been in Tokyo and it's strangely exhilarating. 

She hides her smile behind her hand.

It could be that she's just giddy from talking to a girl that's  _ exactly her type _ , too. That could definitely be part of the excitement growing in her chest despite her exhaustion.

She pushes herself off the ground with on hand and turns the corner into her room, still deep in thought. The cat and bunny are already curled up on her pillow, and the terrariums along the walls next to the windows are all properly stocked with food, fresh bedding, and of course, the pets themselves. Hibiki goes through the motions of taking off her clothes and brushing her teeth vigorously in almost no time at all, but once she gets on the bed (sideways, of course, she's not going to disturb pets already fast asleep), her mind wants to do anything but sleep.

Hamzou curls up next to her ear, making a little pile out of her hair that'll definitely cause a huge tangle when she wakes up. If she happens to get any sleep, that is. And if the time on her alarm clock is correct and that really is showing a big, red  _ four _ as the hour, she almost definitely won't get any sleep that's worth it's spit.

She closes her eyes anyway, eyes burning from being awake so long. She can't quite stop the sides of her lips from turning up, though.

She happily wonders what Chihaya's doing right now. Probably petting Inumi. Or actually sleeping, even, by now. Maybe she's brushing her teeth in Hibiki's guest bathroom or brushing her pretty hair or perhaps… undressing- nope. Abort that thought immediately. 

Hibiki rolls to her side, upending Hamuzou in the process, earning her a little squeak of annoyance before he settles again. 

It's funny how she was on the verge of finding a new place to live just earlier this morning, and now she's never been more grateful that she lives here. She was still incensed from her landlord and the staff ganging up on her, but this new advancement in her life had absolutely changed her outlook.

She was excited to be living in this building, excited to have the neighbors she had, just, generally excited about everything, really. Her life really wasn't anything to complain about. It was busy, but she  _ liked  _ that. She's _ happy _ .

It's not like she'd know what to do with an extra minute of free time in the first place.

She barely knows what to do with herself  _ now _ ; in bed, in her apartment, with a  _ girl _ less than ten yards away from her. It should probably be more concerning that it's a stranger, but trusting pretty girls has always been Hibiki's go-to and it hasn't ever done her wrong before. 

Pretty girls are justice, everybody knows that. Duh.  


Hibiki kicks her legs against the bed and flops back onto her back, everybody else in the room long since fast asleep. She… should probably follow their lead. There's pretty much only endless fluff and nonsense in her head at this point, but that's nothing a solid hour or two of fitful sleep in a bed with three, possibly four, other creatures can't solve.  


It doesn't take her long to fall asleep once she actually tries, though, the exhaustion quickly catching up to her, but the last thought to cross her mind before succumbing to a restless sleep is if the speed of today's events will correlate at all with the speed of their budding relationship… whatever it may be.

**Author's Note:**

> just girls bein pals. just pals bein buds. 
> 
> this was just a writing practice and very little actually happens in it, but id be delighted if anybody read this and enjoyed it! ive been posting quite a bit since its imas anni season, but have gotten no comments and less than a handful of kudos so id really really appreciate any feedback in the form of either of those things!! thanks for reading and making it this far!! (shoutout to this being the first chibiki fic on ao3!! woo!!)
> 
> again, just for fun! thank you for everything, idolmaster!! im grateful for the past 15 years, and im looking forward to the next 15!!


End file.
